About the reserve

Ray Creek winds through the maze of saltmarsh before flowing past the long shingle ridge that hugs the coastline. The mix of exposed mudflats, shell banks and shingle pools are host to a plethora of migratory waders in spring and autumn, providing a rich feeding ground, while during the winter months you can hear the distinctive ‘ruk-ruk-ruk’ of Brent Geese. Looking skywards, the reserve is an important point on the migratory route for many Finches, Chats, Pipits, Skylarks, Swallows and Martins. 

Colne Point is one of the most important breeding sites in Essex for beach-nesting little terns, oystercatchers and ringed plovers. These birds nest on the ground all along the upper course of the beach in the summer months, if visiting in the summer please be vigilant and take extra care to avoid disturbing the birds and their nests. Any prolonged disturbance to nests could result in nest failure. For more information take a look at our Share Our Shores project.

Look to the ground and you may catch site of some of the rare invertebrates that call this reserve home, with plenty of solitary bees and wasps that nest down in the sandy substrate. Colne Point is one of the only sites in the country to find a rare spider species that lives in the shingle!

In the rich saltmarsh habitat, you can find rare plant species such as Golden Samphire and Small cord-grass, while across the shingle and sand ridge Yellow Horned Poppy, Sea Poppy, Bindweed and Spurge thrive.

Please note: No fishing on this site